Airport gave former director Sean Hunter a 24-karat parachute: An editorial

Sean Hunter got a fat severance check in 2009 when he voluntarily resigned as Louis Armstrong International Airport's aviation director, even though he was already under federal investigation for insurance fraud.

The Times-Picayune archiveLouis Armstrong International Airport.

It is flabbergasting that Mr. Hunter's contract included such a generous and unnecessary provision.

He received six months' pay -- $97,821 -- for quitting. He has since pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice in connection with an insurance settlement paid for his wife's BMW -- a car she reported had been destroyed in Hurricane Katrina.

Mr. Hunter admitted hiding the car from investigators in an airport garage.

Aviation Board President Nolan Rollins says he isn't happy about the payout, but the contract tied his hands. "I feel just like the rest of the public feels, that it doesn't feel right,'' he said.

Mr. Rollins wasn't on the board in 2007 when Mr. Hunter was promoted from within. Dan Packer, who recently resigned from the board, was president then and signed the contract that included the severance terms. That wasn't in the best interest of the airport or the public.

Mr. Rollins says he doesn't see how the board could have handled the Hunter matter any differently since he had not been indicted at the time of his resignation. And the board president says that he still thinks a severance provision is necessary to attract good candidates.

That's worrisome. Comparable airports don't offer severance pay to their directors, according to a WVUE-TV report, and those that do are not so broadly written.

The new aviation director, Iftikhar Ahmad, was given three months' severance in his contract.

But paying someone to quit is a perverse incentive. If the aviation director chooses to resign to take a better job, for example, why should the public pay that person to do so?
In Mr. Hunter's case, the board could have terminated him instead of allowing him to step down voluntarily with a generous parting gift.

Certainly going forward, the Aviation Board needs to make sure that it's a good steward, looking out for the public's interests. Mr. Rollins said he might consider a clawback provision that would allow the airport to get money back if the person who received a severance check commits a crime. That might prove difficult to enforce.

"We need to protect not just the dollars, but the image of the airport,'' Mr. Rollins said.
He's right about that, but open-ended severance packages only protect aviation directors -- including Mr. Hunter.